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Redundancy, and "useless" or "nonsensical" words (or phrases, or morphemes), can also be inherited by one language from the influence of another and are not pleonasms in the more critical sense but actual changes in grammatical construction considered to be required for "proper" usage in the language or dialect in question.
See List of English words with disputed usage for words that are used in ways that are deprecated by some usage writers but are condoned by some dictionaries. There may be regional variations in grammar, orthography, and word-use, especially between different English-speaking countries.
For example, the English phonemes /p/ and /b/ in the words pin and bin feature different voicing, aspiration, and muscular tension. Any one of these features is sufficient to differentiate /p/ from /b/ in English. [2] Generative grammar uses such redundancy to simplify the form of grammatical description. Any feature that can be predicted on ...
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
Bilingual tautological expressions – Redundancy in linguistic expression; Figure of speech – Non-literal word or phrase used for effect; Grammar – Structural rules of a language; Hyperbole – Rhetorical device; Lapalissade – An obvious and comical truism; No true Scotsman – Informal logical fallacy
List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English; Logorrhea (psychology) – Communication disorder that causes excessive wordiness and repetitiveness; Obfuscation – Intentionally confusing wording to confuse people apart from an intended audience; Pleonasm – Redundancy in linguistic expression
can back up [verb]) (can be) (can black out [verb]) (can breathe [verb]) (can check out [verb]) (can play back [verb]) (can set up [verb]) (can try out [verb])
Words with specific American meanings that have different meanings in British English and/or additional meanings common to both dialects (e.g., pants, crib) are to be found at List of words having different meanings in British and American English. When such words are herein used or referenced, they are marked with the flag [DM] (different ...